Conservatories and Conservation Areas: The Facts

Establishing a conservatory can be a great way to expand and increase the price of your home. However, prior to you starting, you need to ensure that you’re following any appropriate legislation.

If you’re preparing to build a conservatory in a conservation area, there are a range of regulations you have to know about.

Keep reading to discover more about conservation areas and ways to develop your conservatory in one.

Exactly what’s a conservation area?

A conservation area is an area of architectural or historical interest that is secured by law. There are great deals of conservation areas. These consist of:

  • The centres of historical towns and cities
  • 18th and 19th-century suburbs
  • Country homes in historical parks
  • Fishing and mining towns

Local authorities secure these locations by limiting property change, tree felling and demolition work in them.

Can I construct a conservatory in a conservation area?

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You can establish a conservatory in a sanctuary. You can even do it without preparing authorization, however, you do need to follow a variety of policies. These include:

  • Not constructing your conservatory on the side of your home
  • Ensuring your conservatory extends no even more than 4 metres far from the rear wall of your house if it’s detached, or 3 metres away if it’s attached

For a complete list of conservatory planning guidelines, see the government’s Planning Portal website.

Planning standards say that you have to make an application for planning authorisation if you’re building an extension on a home in a conservation area, and you want it to be more than one storey. You similarly have to get planning permission if you wish to put exterior cladding on your extension.

Conservatories are single storey and do not require exterior cladding. So if you wish to construct an extension in a conservation area, but do not wish to request planning approval, a conservatory is a great choice.

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Naturally you can always apply for planning approval if you do wish to establish a conservatory on the side of your home, or further away from your rear wall. However you’ll need to await for permission to be given prior to you starting work.

Even if you believe your conservatory does not require planning permission, we suggest that you talk to your local planning authority prior to you beginning construction. This is since conservation area policies can vary between various planning authorities and change over time.

How do I call my local planning authority or try to apply for planning permission?

To find out your local planning authority’s contact information, have a look at their website. If you’re uncertain who your local planning authority is, you can find out using a tool on the Planning Portal. You must also use Planning Portal.

If you’re all set to get started on your conservatory, but haven’t discovered a contractor to install it yet, you can utilise our online form. We’ll link you with as much as 4 regional tradespeople, who will have the ability to provide you with a free quote. And if you haven’t decided which material to use, take a look at our information on aluminium and wooden conservatories.

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